Using LinkedIn for Business

With its over 175 million members, LinkedIn is a social network that allows you to create a professional network, post and find jobs, answer questions, and create thought leadership.

What makes it different from other social networking site is that it requires you to keep things buttoned up. While you can mention your vacation in Paris on Facebook, this is something that you don’t need to reveal on your LinkedIn account. However, that research paper you wrote about “Using the Power of Blog to Drive Sales” will fit perfectly on your online professional profile.

Completing Your LinkedIn Profile

Because of its capability to expand your online presence in the professional segment, LinkedIn should also be a part of your social media marketing. And in order to get started, you need to complete your profile first.

Full Name and Image

This may come as a no-brainer, but some LinkedIn users fails to include their full name and picture on their profile. A full name will help other people to easily find you, while an image encourages them to view your profile.

Professional Headline

Your Personal Headline tells what your current job is. It’s automatically updated depending on your current position, although you can customize it to make it more appealing to your audience.

Work History

The same with curriculum vitae, you can add your work experience on LinkedIn. You can even select the name of your previous company if it’s available in the drop down menu, which makes sure that you are grouped with your fellow employees under the “Company” searches. You may also include your internships, but adding the positions you had in your community or school organizations in unnecessary.

Recommendations

In each of your position, you can ask a recommendation to help your audience distinguish how well you perform. However, you shouldn’t just send the default template that LinkedIn made for you. Include some projects you worked on so that the recipient will remember you immediately and will make a more compelling recommendation.

Website URL

You can also add various websites on your LinkedIn profile, together with your interests, groups, and associations. Just remember to customize your website list by distinguishing it as Personal Website, Company Website, Blog, and many more.

Profile URL

You can also customize your LinkedIn profile URL, so you can easily share it with your other social network followers.

Twitter Account Integration

Adding your Twitter account will make your account more personal. Aside from your user name, you can also post tweets to help your audience see how you speak and think. Just remember to select an option to only share tweets that contain a LinkedIn hashtag (#in or #li).

A complete LinkedIn profile is important because that’s what makes it essentially useful for your strategy. If you have a complete professional profile, you can easily inform your audience about the things that you do, as well as the products and services that you can provide.

Aki Libo-on is a Philippine-based Web Content Writer for Alpha Brand Media and a member of Search Engine Journal's editorial team. She's also the author of "How to Start a Blog (And Earn from It!)"—a beginner’s guide to blogging published by Bookware Publishing.